Where Does Our Energy Come from in Baden-Württemberg?

Where Does Our Energy Come from in Baden-Württemberg?

By 2050, Baden-Württemberg plans to obtain 80 per cent of its energy from renewable sources. The road leading there will be long. But where exactly does our energy come from now?

Primary Energy Consumption

The state government has set itself the goal of making renewable energy its main source of energy in the future. This will fundamentally change the state’s energy infrastructure. Up until now, electricity and heat have been overwhelmingly generated by conventional power plants. In 2014, primary energy consumption in Baden-Württemberg was 1,351,000 terajoules, which includes electricity generation as well as energy used for heating and motor fuel. This is the amount of energy it would take for a car using 10 litres of petrol per 100 km to travel the distance between the moon and the Earth approximately 15,000 times. The main sources of energy were petroleum at 35.5 per cent, nuclear energy at a little more than one third, and natural gas at about 17.8 per cent each. At 12.6 per cent, the proportion of renewable energy in 2014 was much lower. Nearly three quarters of that was attributable to biomass. Hydropower accounted for only 1.2 per cent, wind and solar power 1.82 per cent of total primary energy consumption.

Gross Electricity Production

The state government has set itself the goal of obtaining 38 per cent of gross electricity production from renewable sources by 2020. Gross electricity production is the whole amount of electricity generated in power plants including the plants’ own energy usage and line losses. Solar power (12 per cent) and wind power (10 per cent) will then make up the lion’s share of renewable energy. In 2050, renewable energy is planned to make up 86 per cent of electricity generated. Current estimates indicate that Baden-Württemberg has set a good course for meeting these objectives. In 2014, gross electricity generation was 58.9 terawatt hours (TWh). Renewable energy generated approximately 14 TWh, accounting for 23.7 per cent of gross electricity generation. The greatest sources of renewable energy were hydropower (7.8 per cent) and solar power (7.9 per cent).

Heat Generation

In the heating sector, in 2014 renewable energy contributed 11 per cent of total heat generation; the percentage of end energy consumption in transportation was 5.0 per cent. When looking at all sectors combined, renewable energy resources supplied 12.6 per cent of total end energy consumption in Baden-Württemberg in 2014.

The Status Quo: Renewables

Security of Supply

If you say A, you must also say B. If you choose the energy transformation, you cannot get around modernizing the energy system. This is the case in Baden-Württemberg. In 2010, nearly 50 per cent of electricity produced here still came from nuclear power. Read more